Lately, I've been wondering how different people view the presidential election. Most people are extremely narrow-minded about it, which kind of bothers me. It seems like a majority of people just pick their candidate a week after the conventions and then wall themselves off in a cocoon (metaphorically) until election day. They ignore anything negative about their favorite candidate and/or anything positive about the other one. I've tried to do the opposite of that though, even though my opinion, realistically, doesn't really matter because I can't vote. That hasn't stopped me from looking at the issue from more than one angle. A couple weeks ago, when a guy in my class (let's call him "Mitch") couldn't stop gushing about how great Obama's convention speech was, I asked whether he had seen the Republican convention also. He said something along the lines of, "Why should I? They're all idiots anyway. Obama's awesome!" Even though everyone's entitled to their own opinion, I personally don't think that their opinion means very much if they haven't informed themselves as much as possible about the alternatives. That's why I watched a little of both conventions. Like Mr. Allen said at the beginning of the year, people should ask, "To what degree do I understand that which I'm rejecting?" before they completely make up their minds one way or the other.
It's not that difficult for me to view the election through the eyes of an Obama supporter, because I'm surrounded by them, and would classify myself as one as well. My entire family, and a lot of my friends, are pulling for Barack, and, for me, it's easy to see why. With the economy tanking so badly, the war in Iraq hemorrhaging money (and lives), and the country in general in such poor shape, a breath of fresh air is long overdue. Many of those voting for Obama aren't voting for him, but voting against George Bush and the Republicans who screwed up the country so badly in the first place. In my opinion, if many of these people thoroughly examined the policies of Obama and John McCain, they might find that, McCain's party affiliation aside, they agree with him a lot more than they previously thought. Still others might find that if they set the candidates' charisma aside and actually examine the substance behind them, they might find out some things to change their opinion.
It's more of a challenge to put myself in the shoes of a McCain supporter, because I'm not one. If I were to truly be honest with myself, I would probably say that despite my best efforts to write this impartially, I'm pretty heavily biased toward Obama. It's probably for that reason that I was surprised that, when I thought about it, I realized something that, to me, seemed counterintuitive. It makes sense that, in general, voters on the McCain train (I'm copyrighting that) would be more rational and thorough than those of Obama. For the reasons listed above, it would be hard for them to justify the kind of adoration of McCain that Obama enjoys, because even the most die-hard Republicans are a little cynical after the disaster known as George Bush. Republicans with any intelligence (more people than you'd think) would have to examine McCain and his policies to make sure he isn't "more of the same".
Finally, believe it or not, there are perspectives outside of the United States. I asked myself what people in different countries think of this election. Do they think it's as important as Americans do? More? Less? Do they even care at all? If so, which candidate do most outsiders approve of? Do they have different reasons than that candidate's American supporters? I don't really know the answers to those questions, but I doubt that the rest of the world is as interested in us as we would like to think.
Even though I doubt that my opinion on the election will change, at least not in a major way, I do think it's a good idea to take a step back and view it from all perspectives, no matter how sure I may be in my convictions. This is a good idea for life in general, and I wish I did it more. If I evaluate my opinions and the opposing opinions of others, only good things can happen. I might decide that I was wrong and become enlightened, or my opinions could remain unchanged, but I would know that I was well informed and that would just strengthen my convictions.
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2 comments:
Amazing job, Brandon - that was a complete 360. You really mentioned all possible perspectives, while at the same time acknowledged that you might be biased because you were an Obama supporter. This did not interfere negatively, however, because you addresed Republican views and how Republican's may feel during the election, which shows your careful consideration towards the topic and your educated opinions. I like how you rationalized why we should see all perspectives before we make a decision - for the election we can't choose a side before both parties get there info out. It's always nice to know your options, to know which material needs to gathered adn processed. It is said that you can make your argument infallible once you learn how to debate the points of your opposition, thus knowing every angle and having a true conviction in what you are saying. I guess you can't say you are a justly informed voter/citizen unless you see both sides to a story.
It was clever how you tied the presidential election to English class in the middle, which reminds me of my connection to Academy. I joined Academy to understand as many perspectives as possible so I can develop my own opinion - I have sucessfully done some of that by reading your blog and understanding that you want that same message put forth.
As for world perspectives, I recently watched this clip on the news that said a kid in Iceland started a poll on the Internet to see if other countries were as interested in the US election...turns out, according to that news clipping, people from 176 countries have voted thus far. It's not as accurate as the newspeople who were broadcasting would like, but it showed a basis for concern in international affairs.
Your bias in this post, although clearly stated does not effect the outcome of the point you are trying to get across. I agree with your opinion that all voters should take a broad look at the candidates running and become well informed.
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